Hi Friend
Google just changed the world again. The Internet world, that is, or more specifically, the way we send and receive emails.
If you never send business or marketing emails to clients or prospects, you can curl up into a ball and hide under your rock.
For everyone else – listen up!
Google (and others) are trying to limit spam emails received to users’ inboxes. An update to Google’s Email Sender Guidelines outlines changes to users sending from or sending to gmail.com email accounts.
Anyone sending over 5,000 emails to Gmail addresses in 24 hours will also require email domain verification.
TL;DR;
Suppose you have a small business and you use an email-sending service like MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, or ConvertKit, etc., to email contacts, but your From address is YourBizName@gmail.com instead of something like hello@YourBizName.com.
Or, you have an email address like helo@YourBizName.com and send emails to many @gmail.com addresses (more than 5,000 in any 24 hours). In both cases, Google may send your email to the spam folder beginning in February 2024.
If you’re sending with a From address ending in gmail.com from any platform other than Google, you’ll likely encounter issues unless you set up email domain authentication.
I’ve Got a Bad Feeling About This!
Hold on there, Han Solo. It’s happening to everyone. Email hosting services like Gmail, Yahoo and many others want to ensure that emails sent to their users are legitimate.
The changes in Feb 2024 will use email domain authentication to validate legitimate senders.
What is Email Domain Authentication?
In a nutshell, Google will check DNS records for all senders looking for authentication data, proving your domain is legitimate and not one belonging to Mr Spam McSpamface. This check is the DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) process.
The process uses two or three DNS records to perform SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) checks – more on those later.
What Is DMARC?
Imagine you have a secret club with rules about who can come in. DMARC is like the club’s bouncer, Mr. T.
When someone comes to your club, the Mr T. checks two things:
1️⃣ First, he checks if the person has an invitation from you (this is like SPF, which checks if the email comes from a trusted email server).
2️⃣ Second, he checks if the person’s ID hasn’t been changed or faked (this is like DKIM, which checks for a unique digital signature on the email).
If the person passes both checks, they can come in. But if they don’t, Mr T. decides what to do based on your club rules – maybe they just warn you about it, send the person to a waiting area, or don’t let them in at all. At the end of the day, Mr T. tells you who came to the club and what happened.
DMARC DNS Record
Now, how do you tell Mr T. your club rules? You write them down in a particular book. This book is like the DMARC DNS record. It’s a set of instructions you put on the internet that tells everyone, including Mr T. (email servers), your club rules. This book includes things like:
- What should Mr T. do if someone doesn’t pass the checks (like send them away or keep an eye on them)?
- Where to send the reports about who tried to come into your club.
So, the DMARC process is like your club’s guard checking people and following your rules. The DMARC DNS record is the rule book you write for the guard to follow. It’s all about ensuring that only the right people (emails) get into your club (inbox).
What Do I Need To Do?
As the DNS records will differ depending on your email system, the best thing you can do is Google your email provider/email marketing system name and the words DMARC and DKIM. For example, if you use ConvertKit, Google the following: “ConvertKit DMARC DKIM. “
You should land on a page with the DNS specifics for your email system. Otherwise, give them a call or lodge a support ticket.
You will need to add records to your domain’s DNS. Your domain registrar login details must be available. Your domain registrar could be a separate company from your web host or the same – it depends on who you purchased the domain name from and where your nameserver records point.
But I Use a gmail.com Email Address – What Do I Do?
If you don’t have a business domain name, you should get one and ditch the free gmail.com address. Registering a domain costs a few dollars per year, and it’s industry best practice to send business-related emails using a domain name that is clearly and recognisably associated with the business.
You can get your business domain name at VentraIP. I have all my Australian domain names registered there.
Happy non-spam emailing.
Until next time, keep thriving.
Wil.
